Last week, Queensland had a double-header, with the mens and women’s team playing at Suncorp Stadium. A few days earlier, we had our own double-header, interviewing Filipo Daugunu and Samu Kerevi. Filipo is still fairly new to Australia, so Samu stepped in originally to help to translate, which is awesome because spending time with him is always a treat. So I took the opportunity to ask him a question too!
It’s great to see the culture of brotherhood at Ballymore, especially while everyone works hard to move forward, in terms of training and competing.
Hi Filipo, thanks for taking the time to chat!
Hello.
How are you settling into the Reds and life at Ballymore?
It’s going really well. I’m liking it.
What are you enjoying most about being a part of the Queensland Reds?
The teamwork… the environment of the team. I used to play soccer, and now I play rugby. I’m enjoying it.
Congrats on a great win over the weekend! You must be happy with how it went...
Yeah. Thankyou.
You used to play soccer. What inspired you to play rugby as a career?
Yeah. I used to play soccer. But I changed to rugby because I like it more. I moved over here, around one year ago to follow a career in rugby.
Have you always been a winger?
No. I always played fullback. But when I moved here, then I played winger.
Reds fans can be glad you made the move to Brisbane. What differences have you found living in Australia, compared to living in Fiji?
I moved over here by myself, all my family are over in Fiji. I’m married, I have two boys.
[Samu:] He just had his boy over the weekend!
[Filipo:] I’m going to visit them after the tour.
Also… in Fiji, we speak Fijian [laughs]. English is very hard.
One question for Samu... while you're here! As a senior player in the team, how do you feel about where the Reds are at, at the moment? You must be proud of players like Filipo stepping up.
[Samu:] Yeah. It feels like something is brewing for us. Personally, I’m happy with Filipo being here, and Eto - it reminds me of home all the time, because I left Fiji at such a young age. They carry the culture for us. It reminds me of my brothers when I go back home - so having them around is like having my older brothers or my little brother at home. I’m loving every minute we get to spend together. Queensland has a rich history of Fijians playing on the team. Chris Kuridrani’s father was one of the first players on the team. So having Filipo around has been awesome.
But in terms of the team, we’ve got a really young group, but when we get on the field, they don’t feel misplaced, they put 100% into it and it feels like they’ve played many game before.
So for me, it’s really comfortable being out there, because these players are really hungry. You’ve got younger guys like Hocko [Harry Hockings] who just made his debut over the weekend. We’ve got so many more to come. We’ve got Hamish Stewart who’s been on the team twice, but hasn’t played yet, he’s another player that’s really outstanding at training and holds himself well. So it’s an exciting time for Queensland rugby.
And Filipo... one more question. Can you tell us something about yourself that not many people may know?
[Samu:] He can dance. [both laugh]
[Filipino]: Most of them, don’t know that I can kick with both feet, both left and right. Especially because of soccer.
Thanks very much for your time. And all the best for this weekend and travelling the week after.
[Filipo:] Thank you.
[Samu:] Thanks again for having us! It’s always good to sit down Tommy and have a chat. Thanks for the questions. Awesome questions as always. It’s good to see you up and healthy.
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